MegaDave speaks about Kerry...
Nikki Sixx working on the Crue reunion, when he just asked us to hold our breath...
And Van Halen over again?!
Last Updated: October 25, 2004 11:35 AM
DAVE MUSTAINE Says JOHN KERRY Will 'Ruin Our Country' - Oct. 25, 2004
MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine recently spoke to Pit Magazine about the group's comeback effort, "The System Has Failed", and the upcoming presidential elections, among other topics. Several excerpts from the interview follow:
Pit Magazine: The cover painting [on the new album] is very striking. It marks the return of band mascot Vic Rattlehead who is accepting payoffs from politicians. Where did the idea come from and weren't you going to use longtime MEGADETH artist Ed Repka to do the cover?
Dave Mustaine: "That was my idea. I talked to Repka, but he got weird with me. We talked about a price, but he is another ingrate. He was a college kid who I put on the map. He wasn't doing anything, we had him do one record cover and then every record cover after that he used the same exact paint that he did 'Peace Sells' with. He mustve bought too much paint. THE CIRCLE JERKS record was done in the same colors. We talked and we had everything worked out and then he started jacking the price up. Then I said goodbye and this time it's forever. I got a guy named Mike Lerner to do it. A lot of people see Bush up front and think that I'm anti-Bush. But everybody is there. The Clintons, Arafat and Blair, the Arabs; nobody is guilt-free. Even though Bush is waving his finger at Vic, what Vic stands for is so much deeper than anybody is on the cover. And the point of the cover is that you can get away with murder in America. You can buy your way out of it."
Pit Magazine: Speaking of politicians, it is an election year in the United States and that has many famous people endorsing presidential candidates. You did the opposite because you recently said, "musicians should shut the fuck up and play music because they dont know anything about running a country."
Dave Mustaine: "You see Al Jourgensen of MINISTRY going around saying 'Fuck Bush.' And I've always liked MINISTRY but I know that guy has a legendary drug problem so you can't really take what he is saying seriously. The United States is the strongest country in the world for a reason. Now I'm gonna vote for Bush. I voted for Clinton, but I don't give a fuck because I vote for the lesser of two evils. Kerry is a mistake. He will ruin our country. But the fact that people would vote based on who a celebrity endorses is just stupid. Don't vote for Bush because I'm voting for him. Don't vote for Kerry because you hate me."
Pit Magazine: More celebrities should take your stance, but they dont.
Dave Mustaine: "Yeah you've got Tom Morello from AUDIOSLAVE walking around talking about freeing the people in South America while he is walking around in his fucking Gucci silk suits. Spare me, what do you know about that? Talk about hypocrisy. Natalie Maines from the DIXIE CHICKS said that she is ashamed to be from the state of Texas; well I'm ashamed that you are fucking from America. I saw her at a Nashville Predators game, talk about somebody who needs to go on a diet. I don't know if she was pregnant at the time, but she sure looked it. But the fact is unless you are a politician, shut up. What do they know about politics? (With a southern accent) Oh well I'm gonna vote for a guy that gonna raise taxes on the fucking rich. You stupid twat. You are in the upper income bracket in America, you are gonna get taxed. And when small business owners get taxed, jobs are lost. How stupid is that? You dont know what the fuck you are talking about, shut up.
Pit Magazine: I know you werent happy with the footage of yourself in the METALICA documentary "Some Kind Of Monster", but I was wondering how you felt as a musician of METALLICAs current musical direction?
Dave Mustaine: "I dont listen to them anymore and I haven't listened to them for a very long time. I wouldn't even know what they are doing. I heard their last song on the radio and I was pretty surprised that it was them. I would have listened closer if I knew it was.
"I've talked about the movie enough. I wasn't happy about it. They know it. They used my footage and I told them not to. I'm not going to be talking to Lars ever again. That's basically the long and the short of it. After a while, you just kind of ask yourself if I was so unimportant and such a temporary, shitty guitar player for so many years and with them ignoring the fact that I even existed, why is it so important that Im in the movie?"
Dave Mustaine's entire interview with the Pit Magazine will be published in issue number 49. More information is available at www.pitmagazine.com.
Nikki Sixx working on the Crue reunion, when he just asked us to hold our breath...
And Van Halen over again?!
Last Updated: October 25, 2004 11:35 AM
DAVE MUSTAINE Says JOHN KERRY Will 'Ruin Our Country' - Oct. 25, 2004
MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine recently spoke to Pit Magazine about the group's comeback effort, "The System Has Failed", and the upcoming presidential elections, among other topics. Several excerpts from the interview follow:
Pit Magazine: The cover painting [on the new album] is very striking. It marks the return of band mascot Vic Rattlehead who is accepting payoffs from politicians. Where did the idea come from and weren't you going to use longtime MEGADETH artist Ed Repka to do the cover?
Dave Mustaine: "That was my idea. I talked to Repka, but he got weird with me. We talked about a price, but he is another ingrate. He was a college kid who I put on the map. He wasn't doing anything, we had him do one record cover and then every record cover after that he used the same exact paint that he did 'Peace Sells' with. He mustve bought too much paint. THE CIRCLE JERKS record was done in the same colors. We talked and we had everything worked out and then he started jacking the price up. Then I said goodbye and this time it's forever. I got a guy named Mike Lerner to do it. A lot of people see Bush up front and think that I'm anti-Bush. But everybody is there. The Clintons, Arafat and Blair, the Arabs; nobody is guilt-free. Even though Bush is waving his finger at Vic, what Vic stands for is so much deeper than anybody is on the cover. And the point of the cover is that you can get away with murder in America. You can buy your way out of it."
Pit Magazine: Speaking of politicians, it is an election year in the United States and that has many famous people endorsing presidential candidates. You did the opposite because you recently said, "musicians should shut the fuck up and play music because they dont know anything about running a country."
Dave Mustaine: "You see Al Jourgensen of MINISTRY going around saying 'Fuck Bush.' And I've always liked MINISTRY but I know that guy has a legendary drug problem so you can't really take what he is saying seriously. The United States is the strongest country in the world for a reason. Now I'm gonna vote for Bush. I voted for Clinton, but I don't give a fuck because I vote for the lesser of two evils. Kerry is a mistake. He will ruin our country. But the fact that people would vote based on who a celebrity endorses is just stupid. Don't vote for Bush because I'm voting for him. Don't vote for Kerry because you hate me."
Pit Magazine: More celebrities should take your stance, but they dont.
Dave Mustaine: "Yeah you've got Tom Morello from AUDIOSLAVE walking around talking about freeing the people in South America while he is walking around in his fucking Gucci silk suits. Spare me, what do you know about that? Talk about hypocrisy. Natalie Maines from the DIXIE CHICKS said that she is ashamed to be from the state of Texas; well I'm ashamed that you are fucking from America. I saw her at a Nashville Predators game, talk about somebody who needs to go on a diet. I don't know if she was pregnant at the time, but she sure looked it. But the fact is unless you are a politician, shut up. What do they know about politics? (With a southern accent) Oh well I'm gonna vote for a guy that gonna raise taxes on the fucking rich. You stupid twat. You are in the upper income bracket in America, you are gonna get taxed. And when small business owners get taxed, jobs are lost. How stupid is that? You dont know what the fuck you are talking about, shut up.
Pit Magazine: I know you werent happy with the footage of yourself in the METALICA documentary "Some Kind Of Monster", but I was wondering how you felt as a musician of METALLICAs current musical direction?
Dave Mustaine: "I dont listen to them anymore and I haven't listened to them for a very long time. I wouldn't even know what they are doing. I heard their last song on the radio and I was pretty surprised that it was them. I would have listened closer if I knew it was.
"I've talked about the movie enough. I wasn't happy about it. They know it. They used my footage and I told them not to. I'm not going to be talking to Lars ever again. That's basically the long and the short of it. After a while, you just kind of ask yourself if I was so unimportant and such a temporary, shitty guitar player for so many years and with them ignoring the fact that I even existed, why is it so important that Im in the movie?"
Dave Mustaine's entire interview with the Pit Magazine will be published in issue number 49. More information is available at www.pitmagazine.com.
BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION
have announced plans to go on hiatus next year while bassist Nikki Sixx concentrates on the MÖTLEY CRÜE reunion tour. In an online posting, BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION guitarist Tracii Guns (ex-L.A. GUNS) wrote, "So, what do Scot, London and I do for the next year. Well, Ill tell ya. We are gonna go tour and write more tunes for the next BRIDES album. Whos gonna play bass?? Well, of course, Stevo Bruno is gonna play bass. As we set out on our journey we will not be called the BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION. We will probably be called something like TRACII GUNS' COCKSTAR or THE STUPID FUCKS or something like that. So youll be hearing some BRIDES tunes and some GUNS hits and some other junk as well. For now this is the plan. As we all know plans can change but this is what we want to do."
Andrew McNeice
of MelodicRock.com reports: "The world of VAN HALEN is a fickle thing and the band have never been far from a headline. The guys are currently working their way through their last weeks of 2004 tour dates shows that some never thought would happen.
"But they did, after the feud between vocalist Sammy Hagar and the Van Halen brothers was laid to rest earlier in the year. The guys finally hit the road again on the back of a new compilation that featured three new tracks.
"There have been numerous reports of problems within the band and just as many reports of Eddie Van Halen drunk on stage.
"Rumors flared again last week after Hagar appeared on U.S. radio station KSHE, stating in an interview that he thought the VAN HALEN reunion was fun, but it bought closure to that chapter. He went on to voice his unhappiness with the high ticket prices from the tour and how he wished some members of the band were into fan interaction as much as he was. It was implied that once the current dates were completed, Hagar would return to touring with THE WARBORITAS and the future of VAN HALEN would again be up in the air.
'What really is going on? What's next for VAN HALEN?
'The reality is that at this point no one knows. But I for one am not hopeful of anything continuing once this leg of the 2004 tour concludes.
'Everything I am hearing from my sources past, proven sources that have all contributed to past VAN HALEN reports is negative. Everything I hear points to a band that is managing to function despite inner turmoil. And it seems all that turmoil is centered around Eddie Van Halen.
"It is no secret that Eddie is drinking heavily and has been since the start of the tour that drinking and his subsequent behavior has put a major strain on relationships within the VAN HALEN organization. As one source put it Eddie is 'unstable.' As a result, there are no band commitments planned past next month. Sammy Hagar is planning to tour with his solo band THE WARBORITAS and could be playing solo as early as December, with further plans being made for summer 2005.
"Apparently Hagar did not want the reunion to play out as it has, but would rather return to being a solo artist than tour with VAN HALEN under current circumstances. I am told there are no 2005 tour plans and no album plans. All will become a little clearer once the tour concludes next month.
"To sum up, everything I have heard points towards confirming what Sammy Hagar said on KSHE-FM last week. Once this tour is done, another chapter of the VAN HALEN history will close with it."
"But they did, after the feud between vocalist Sammy Hagar and the Van Halen brothers was laid to rest earlier in the year. The guys finally hit the road again on the back of a new compilation that featured three new tracks.
"There have been numerous reports of problems within the band and just as many reports of Eddie Van Halen drunk on stage.
"Rumors flared again last week after Hagar appeared on U.S. radio station KSHE, stating in an interview that he thought the VAN HALEN reunion was fun, but it bought closure to that chapter. He went on to voice his unhappiness with the high ticket prices from the tour and how he wished some members of the band were into fan interaction as much as he was. It was implied that once the current dates were completed, Hagar would return to touring with THE WARBORITAS and the future of VAN HALEN would again be up in the air.
'What really is going on? What's next for VAN HALEN?
'The reality is that at this point no one knows. But I for one am not hopeful of anything continuing once this leg of the 2004 tour concludes.
'Everything I am hearing from my sources past, proven sources that have all contributed to past VAN HALEN reports is negative. Everything I hear points to a band that is managing to function despite inner turmoil. And it seems all that turmoil is centered around Eddie Van Halen.
"It is no secret that Eddie is drinking heavily and has been since the start of the tour that drinking and his subsequent behavior has put a major strain on relationships within the VAN HALEN organization. As one source put it Eddie is 'unstable.' As a result, there are no band commitments planned past next month. Sammy Hagar is planning to tour with his solo band THE WARBORITAS and could be playing solo as early as December, with further plans being made for summer 2005.
"Apparently Hagar did not want the reunion to play out as it has, but would rather return to being a solo artist than tour with VAN HALEN under current circumstances. I am told there are no 2005 tour plans and no album plans. All will become a little clearer once the tour concludes next month.
"To sum up, everything I have heard points towards confirming what Sammy Hagar said on KSHE-FM last week. Once this tour is done, another chapter of the VAN HALEN history will close with it."
